Independence Day: 7 important victories in the American Revolution

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Thursday, July 04, 2024

The Battle of Fort Ticonderoga – May 10, 1775

An 1875 engraving depicting the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen on May 10, 1775, during the American Revolution. | Wikimedia Commons

Less than a month after the war began, Colonel Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys force worked with rebel commander Benedict Arnold to attack Fort Ticonderoga, based in New York.

Fewer than 100 Americans stormed the fortress at night, overcoming a single sentry for the garrison of about 50 and capturing the position without a single fatality on either side.

“The capture of Fort Ticonderoga was the first offensive victory for American forces in the Revolutionary War. It secured the strategic passageway north to Canada and netted the patriots an important cache of artillery,” explained the American Battlefield Trust.

“Fort Ticonderoga remains firmly in American hands until the Saratoga Campaign of 1777, when the British Army, under the command of General John Burgoyne, recaptures it as they move south from Canada.”